A clown is not a king: the final days of Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister.

The Circus Of Ineptitude is in its dying days. And what a spectacle that death will be.

This is not a multiple tail-ender in the supermarket carpark. It’s a fifty-car pile up with a Jumbo crashing on the freeway.

I wanted to see Joooolya collect her due; I wanted to watch as she faced the voters to concede on election night. It would be worth enduring the voice that grinds against the eardrums like gravel as the Droner from Altona acknowledged the devastation of the Australian Labor Party. Kevin Rudd was a spent force in February. He had nothing to offer. Rumours persisted that some inside the government wanted to reinstate him as Prime Minister; it said more about the depth of their cowardice than the strength of Rudd that they would even consider him.

But Jooolya continued through the year to drag Labor lower and lower in the public’s esteem. Every attack on Tony Abbott, every ill-considered media stunt blew up in her face. People worry about peak oil; the Bogan Vuvuzela proved day after day that there is no such thing as peak stupid.

Almost three years to the day of his own toppling, Kruddfuhrer and his minions made their move. Jooolya got the low sign. The vindictive narcissist from Queensland was back in the driver’s seat.

Is he a better person for his time in the wilderness?

Has he gained a deeper appreciation of his shortcomings? Taken the chance to reflect on why he was so unpopular in 2010? Does he understand now why his colleagues gave him the shove?

C’mon. This is Kevin Rudd we’re talking about.

Rudd was not brought back to give the Circus of Ineptitude a win in the election. He was brought back to turn a total wipeout into an almost acceptable loss.

The change gave the government a lift in the polls. This was not an appreciation for Rudd but an expression of relief. Once again, Australia had a Labor Prime Minister who wasn’t Julia Gillard. But Kevin Rudd was still Kevin Rudd. About a third of the cabinet resigned rather than serve under Rudd again. They speak frankly about him here:
Many staff followed suit. So many that Rudd’s new ministers were forced to call around and ask departing workers to stay on. Rudd’s new team are mostly unknowns and no doubt that suits Kruddfuhrer just fine. He’s never been comfortable sharing the spotlight.

Rudd has been puffing his chest out and inserting himself into the narrative wherever he can. And there is no problem so large that Rudd cannot make it larger. His handling of the illegal boat arrivals and the people smuggling industry has been pure farce. Labor in Opposition deplored John Howard’s Pacific Solution. They promised to enforce the borders; in government, they demolished them. Result: 45,000 illegal immigrants, and 1000 deaths at sea.

Jooolya’s attempts to manage the problem demonstrated beyond argument just how ill-suited she was to the leadership. Rudd to the rescue: He struck a deal with the government of Papua New Guinea. 3000 illegals would be sent to Manus Island. Within a month of the announcement there were 2764 new arrivals in Australian waters. Asking PNG to shoulder such a burden was like asking a child to drive an ambulance. But Rudd had made his grand announcement and the rest was only minor detail.

Rudd has offended – indeed, he has infuriated the citizens with his antics since June. One stunt after another, intended to make him appear statesmanlike. I am Rudd, Saviour Of Government And Nation. The surest way to minimise the carnage would been to lock this man and his entire team in a shipping container until election day. There’s no good reason to believe that Labor power brokers didn’t give it serious consideration. Rudd declared that he was not bound to Joooolya’s chosen election date of September 14. Studiously, like a stripper removing her garments, he teased the voters with possible dates across the calendar. Constitutionally Rudd was bound to go to the voters by November. The choice of Sept 7 was a surprise to most Australians. Word is that his colleagues forced him to go early once they realised that he was only accelerating the dive.

Rudd played bait and switch at every opportunity. He agreed to be interviewed by Andrew Bolt on Bolt’s Sunday tv program, but the interview was recorded rather than live. Rudd, the nation learnt later, had spent Sunday indulging himself in the most ridiculous fashion.

Labor was critical of former prime minister John Howard’s regular use of RAAF VIP Special Purpose jets to fly him to work in Canberra from his home in Sydney, but Mr Rudd has broken all records for prime ministerial VIP plane travel.

The Circus of Ineptitude is about to close forever. Bereft of insight they have begun laying the blame already. Rupert Murdoch has been masterminding Labor’s downfall, according to Labor. Tony Abbott has remained a prime target of leftoid venom. But Rudd The Recycled has been a failure; he self-destructed within days of his return. Everything since July 4 has been mere conversation.

In 2008 Kevin Rudd delivered an apology to the ‘stolen generations.’ Speaking from the House of Representatives he addressed the entire continent via radio and televion, saying sorry for the actions of others. His speech ran to approximately three and a half thousand words.

In early July 2013 the Queensland Coroner delivered a verdict on the deaths of four men employed under the ill-managed Pink Batts Scheme. Rudd, it was said, ignored repeated warnings from his ministers at the time. He managed to slip away to Indonesia as the report was being released; he apologised, brusquely and reluctantly, when pressed by a reporter. There was talk of meetings with the families of the four dead men – although the mother of one, when asked what she wanted from the Prime Minister, said ‘I want him to disappear.’

And so say all of us.

Grabbing the spotlight when it’s convenient; dodging responsibility to the greatest extent possible. This is Kevin Rudd. He is not fit to stand at the head of a bus queue, far less lead a nation.